Episode Review: Hunter X Hunter (Episode 106 - Knov x and x Morel)

Knov's Scream

Traffic is one of the struggles that I must endure every Wednesday. Though I always get tired because of the travel, spending less than an hour watching Hunter X Hunter after I got home can bring back every ounce of energy that I have exerted earlier. What I didn’t expect is, a guy in the Hunter X Hunter world will experience the trauma that’s worse than being stuck in an hour of traffic.

Knov x and x Morel for me is not as tense as the previous episodes of Hunter X Hunter. Despite this, Togashi was able to prove that the anime series can pull out a great segment even without its main characters. Yes, another week without Gon and Killua. The battle of Gungi between the Meruem and Komugi is another thing that you can’t look forward on this episode. The story only focuses on the point of view of four characters:  Knov, Morel, Bizeff and Palm.

The first part made me raise my eyebrow. Is that Knov worrying too much about being caught? He can escape easily with his conjured portals right? My first impression of him is that, he is a cool and a strong four-eyed guy in formal suits. Netero won’t be bringing him along if he doesn’t have enough power to kill a chimera ant soldier. His strength was proven after being able to take down Flutter – the Chimera ant officer that looked like a dragonfly. As this particular episode runs, I started to entertain doubts about him. Even so, a huge part of me still believes that he is good at combat and this is what I have expected to see on the next coming seconds of the anime.

Knov

As the infiltration gets deeper, Knov can be seen setting up portals which are necessary for their escape and attack. His mission was to create the nearest portal to the King that he could plant. As he gets nearer to the center of the palace, he was seen by a patrolling Chimera ant soldier. Just before I could tell its next action, Knov was able to kill it with his “Scream”. You can see that surprised look on his face but thank God that he was superior enough to behead the enemy.

So it made me think. He has got the skill, the strength and may be wits, but why is that he looked so freaked out?  The hunter is obviously panting not because he’s tired but because his heart appeared that it can’t handle any more thrills. The next scene confirmed Knov’s lack of will.

Knov kills a Chimera Ant

Pouf’s En was seen lurking at the stairs. This is enough to convince Knov that the center of the first floor of East Gorteau’s palace is where he should stop. He conjured his last portal and left.

Palm on the other hand is doing her job as a mole inside the palace. She acted as one of the applicants for Secretary Bizeff – the symbol for ambitious and lustful fatheads in the world of politics. We could say that for a woman like her, even if she is a huntress, Palm’s mission is a lot terrible than the others. Her job is to see the king and its royal guards with her own eyes so that she can keep track of them. But before she can do that, she must be able to secure herself from the horrors of East Gorteau’s palace. Aside from avoiding detection by the royal guards, she also has to save herself or cope through the disgust of being a sex slave for one of the creepiest creature in the palace.

Palm

Meanwhile, Knov was successful on securing himself in a safe place. Though he is physically unharmed, his mental state was badly broken. There are many reasons that you can think of about Knov’s breakdown. Pouf’s aura may not be as strong as Pitou’s but it contains the same murderous aura that can shock every outsider that sees it. Adding up to it is the aftershock of doing all those dangerous stuff while inside the palace.  Then there’s the worry for Palm which is a bit understandable. We can say that he had developed a liking for Palm despite her appearance. After all they have been together for a long time. Who wouldn’t freak out if the person that you cared for could most likely fail on her mission, tortured by monsters, get herself killed and you can’t do something about it?

A few kilometers from Knov is Morel who is about to a start a fight with a Chimera ant squadron leader. Morel who came along with Netero and Knov in NGL is not just strong and skilled but he was also incredibly clever. Unlike the four-eyed guy, this man who carries a huge pipe with him can gracefully act and think quickly, despite the danger that surrounds him. These dudes are about to see who’s tougher between them. Unfortunately, there goes that overlapping ending song that signals the end of the episode.

To summarize it all, episode 106 of Hunter X Hunter: Chimera Ant Arc is an important part of the series that fans should never miss. You’ll never get to see an episode that is as awesome and moving as this without the exposure of the fan-favorites.

Morel vs Leol